Possible to set cache management rules by file type?
I like having a large cache thereby being able to search way back in my browsing history for web pages, and see previously clicked links no matter how long ago I clicked them, however it occurs to me that to avail myself of this benefit I also have to allow FF to cache everything else - text & javascript junk, old cookies, and hundreds of megs worth of pictures and flash bits that make the web look pretty.
I'd love a way to set expiry dates on the cache based on file types, e.g. htm/html: never delete. cookies: maybe, based on rules I set (option to add filters etc would be cool), pics & videos: a week or so, etc..
I assume this doesn't already exist as I can't find any reference to it when searching, and it's defo not natively available through the basic interface. How much work would it be to develop, and would anyone else benefit from this function?
Helpful replies
Not sure where it would be best to discuss this, but you will not normally have developers reading posts in this forum.Probably better to try looking at this listing:
- http://www.mozilla.org/about/forums/#general-development
at least someone ton one of those fora will probably point you in the right direction
You could file a bug requesting such a feature, but it would be much better to try to get someone interested in doing the work or agreeing it is worthwhile first.
It also occurs tome that what you may be more interested in is merely the History and not necessarily the cache, because presumably it is sufficient to have the link retained rather than the content itself. do you normally even try to search the cache rather then the History?
The History itself now by default goes back a long way, and only starts to restrict things if bookmarks are too extensive. (Not too sure at the moment where the links are but I recall changes in the algorithms maybe a year or too ago).
Another point is that short of copying your places.sqlite file there is no way of backing up history, there are no automated backups. (I know I accidentally cleared History recently, from the wrong profile, and had not backed it up for a long time)
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Win7 laptop and Ubuntu desktop. Not really a problem, per se, so full PC specs not required.
Helpful Reply
Not sure where it would be best to discuss this, but you will not normally have developers reading posts in this forum.Probably better to try looking at this listing:
- http://www.mozilla.org/about/forums/#general-development
at least someone ton one of those fora will probably point you in the right direction
You could file a bug requesting such a feature, but it would be much better to try to get someone interested in doing the work or agreeing it is worthwhile first.
It also occurs tome that what you may be more interested in is merely the History and not necessarily the cache, because presumably it is sufficient to have the link retained rather than the content itself. do you normally even try to search the cache rather then the History?
The History itself now by default goes back a long way, and only starts to restrict things if bookmarks are too extensive. (Not too sure at the moment where the links are but I recall changes in the algorithms maybe a year or too ago).
Another point is that short of copying your places.sqlite file there is no way of backing up history, there are no automated backups. (I know I accidentally cleared History recently, from the wrong profile, and had not backed it up for a long time)
Question owner
Thanks John, for the answer and for using the word fora :)
Ah, so you've revealed a fallacy in my underlying knowledge: the cache doesn't store the history, thus I could delete the cache and not lose any of the history. More reading required for me, but looks as if my request probably won't now be required.
Cheers!
Dez
Hi Dez,
A bit more info.
The History is in places.sqlite and the user interface is part of the Library/bookmarks manager Ctrl + Shift + H
Please do not comment in bugs, but this one may include some interesting background reading Bug 425219 - Places' history expiration algorithm seems overly complicated
Cheers John
P.S.
There are software extensions for cache viewing but you can get a lot of information by using about:cache key it into the location bar.
Modified by John99